WEEKEND TV : More Mandela, ‘Star Trek’ Finale on Tap

Nelson Mandela’s ongoing tour of the United States puts the TV spotlight on foreign affairs and the struggle for freedom this weekend.

Sunday at 11 a.m. on Channel 28, PBS’ “Meeting With Mandela” features an interview with South Africa’s premier black leader. Charlayne Hunter-Gault will moderate the program, which will also feature conversations between Mandela and several noted experts on South Africa.

Earlier Sunday, at 8 a.m. (2)(8), CBS’ “Sunday Morning” will summarize Mandela’s activities here in the United States and will report from South Africa on the continuing struggle to end apartheid. The program also includes reports on the 40th anniversary of the Korean War and the International Conference on AIDS in San Francisco.

On the entertainment front, the network cupboard is bare, but Trekkies will want to be sure to tune in for the season finale of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Sunday at 5 p.m. on KCOP Channel 13. The show will end in a cliffhanger--the first for any “Star Trek” episode new or old--that leaves the crew to decide whether to save Captain Picard at the expense of humankind.

And “National Geographic Explorer” will present high-school students competing for a $25,000 college scholarship in the National Geography Bee, Sunday at 6 p.m. on TBS.